How is site communication (reports, milestones, incidents) managed with project management and the client?

Q: How is site communication (reports, milestones, incidents) managed with project management and the client?

Work communication in a trenchless project is managed by defining from the start a reporting calendar, a single communication channel and decision-makers. The weekly report must be operational: progress vs. plan, milestones achieved and upcoming, restrictions (permits, road occupation and coordination with utilities), incidents with impact and corrective actions, and a short list of necessary decisions. Milestones are formulated with acceptance criteria (“done when...”) to avoid ambiguities. Issues are classified by impact and escalated with A/B/C and responsible/close date options, with thresholds to trigger extraordinary meetings only when necessary.

The communication of work on a project NO trench works when it becomes a short and predictable cycleWhat is reported, when, who decides and how incidents are managed without blocking production. This applies equally whether the method is Microtunnel o Pipe jacking.

1) Clear rules from the outset (RACI + calendar)

Before starting, an agreement is reached with facultative direction and customer:

Rate of reporting (daily/weekly) and format (1 page + attachments).
Single communications channel (official mail + repository) so that nothing gets “lost”.
Who approves changes, who valid milestones and who receives alerts (responsible and alternates).

2) Weekly reporting that actually avoids downtime

A good (very operational) weekly report usually includes:

Progress vs. plan (milestones achieved, next milestone and target date).
Restrictions (permits, road occupation, coordination with utilities) and their status.
IncidentsWhat happened, impact, corrective action, responsible party and closure date.
Active occupations and phase changes (what is of most interest to municipalities and operations).
“Necessary decisions”(maximum 3) for DF/client to unlock.

3) “Measurable” milestones and unambiguous acceptances.

To avoid discussion, milestones are defined on a “done when...” basis:

Implementation list / confirmed accesses.
Well(s) available if applicable (see Vertical wells).
Start-up, advance, arrival, withdrawal, and repositioning.
Closing and delivery documentation.

4) Incident management without slowing down production

The key is to separate incidence from decision:

Minor incidents: resolved with corrective action and reported.
Incidents with impact: they increase with options (A/B/C), indicative cost/term and recommendation.
They remember thresholds to activate an extraordinary meeting (not for any microproblem).

5) Technical support to make communication “decidable”.”

When the project is complex or heavily conditioned by permits/operators, it often works very well to incorporate from the beginning Technical assistance and engineering to order deliverables, acceptance criteria, risk matrix and communication with third parties.

If you share with us your milestone schedule and reporting scheme, we will align it into a coordination proposal from Contact.